Preserving cultural heritage highlighted at European Day in Qatar

The importance of preserving cultural heritage was highlighted at a panel discussion at the European Day event yesterday at the Qatar National Library (QNL). The discussion, titled ‘Where the Past Meets the Future: Working Together to preserve our Cultural Heritage’, focused on efforts to preserve and protect cultural heritage through education and close collaboration between countries. It was moderated by Mona Hamed Hussain, director of Legal Affairs, Qatar Museums (QM).“All these close co-operation between countries in and outside of Europe form part of a kind of peace process,” said Stephane Ipert, acting director of the Heritage Library and Manager of Conservation and Preservation, QNL. He noted that the European Union (EU) builds a professional network where archaeologists from various countries such as France, Sweden, and Germany, among others, co-operate and work together, forming ‘a network of experts.’“They exchange know-how, which is very important. It is also a way to rediscover their own heritage,” Ipert stressed.The senior QNL official added that the EU is financing several projects outside of Europe worth €500mn to support preservation projects. Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani Museum director Kees Wieringa echoed Ipert’s view saying that cultural preservation is important not only for Qatar but also for the rest of the world. He said they are collecting items from all over the world “to share all these cultures with the people in the country. Sheikh Faisal wants to share knowledge and that is the most important thing.”“When you share knowledge it is building bridges, and building bridges is so important, especially this time,” Wieringa noted.Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani Museum is a heritage venue that showcases a large diversified collection of unique and extraordinary artefacts from “the Jurassic age to the early Islamic period and up to present, across a wide range of themes.”Wieringa said they created a project called ‘Cultures in Dialogue,’ which they plan to bring to Europe.“It is all about dialogue and we want to start the dialogue with European people and the dialogue about cultures,” he added. Dr Anna Paolini, director, Uneco Representative in the Arab States of Gulf and Yemen, stressed the importance of investing in heritage education. Dr Farhan Sakal, head of Archaeological Operations, QM, said documentation is the best preservation. “If we can document everything perfectly we can preserve everything perfectly,” he stressed.Sakal noted that the pioneers of Arabian Gulf archaeologists started working by the end of the 50s, from Bahrain to Qatar, documenting cultural heritage. The celebration also saw Bulgarian ambassador Metin Kazak addressing EU envoys from various embassies in Doha while a keynote address was delivered by QNL executive director Dr Sohair Westawy.The event concluded with a reception and visit to the German exhibition titled ‘Arab and German Tales – Transcending Cultures.’The exhibition features original artefacts and historic documents of storytelling from ancient to modern times, including a papyrus collection, fragments from ‘1001 Nights’, illustrated handwritings, manuscripts and early prints of travel reports and fairytales.